MMOs and game design

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Can’t write, have to play Final Fantasy 13!

Or rather, counting the minutes until I can sit down with my partner again and play it some more.

First impressions:

This game is gorgeous. The animations are also excellent.

I like the characters! Which is a vast improvement over FF12. Sazh (spoiler alert if you read past where it says ‘spoiler alert’) is probably the closest I’ve ever seen to an everyman character in a Final Fantasy game.

Square-Enix read about the concept of ‘show not tell’ and decided that didn’t apply to them. If you want to have any hope of understanding the rather complex background and story, you must read the datalog every time information is added to it.

Despite the wall-of-text syndrome, it is very worthwhile to read the datalogs anyway because the setting is fascinating. It would not have been possible to present this much information if the player had to personally experience all of it.

Combat is fast paced and fun. One criticism that has been levelled at the game is that it takes several hours over its tutorial. This is because combat also gets very complex and involved. I still have a long way to go with the tutorial but I was finding the combat fun from the start and can’t wait until I can unlock the full complexity.

Also, if you picked up a PS3 version, there is a code in the box which apparently gives you extra stuff … such as an increased chance at a FF14 beta spot. (I will get round to trying this later, since our box did have the code in it.)

One of the characters attacks people using something that looks like a lacrosse stick with a ball/s attached via elastic. Since one of my schoolgirl fantasies was beating people up with a lacrosse stick, I’m all over this.

I do notice though that playing console games with a friend/partner can be dull if it is your turn to watch. It’s very unlike playing either a 2-person game where you both have controllers, or playing PC games where you each have a computer.

I continue to think that this will be a huge barrier in the takeup of console MMOs. Developers don’t fully understand how many MMO households have several players in them who want to play together.

Spinks said, “I do notice though that playing console games with a friend/partner can be dull if it is your turn to watch. It’s very unlike playing either a 2-person game where you both have controllers, or playing PC games where you each have a computer.”

And then there was the Gamecube’s Final Fantasy:Crystal Chronicles. It was a beautiful game and a pleasure to play as a single-player, but if you wanted to multiplay it with another person it required a GBA for each player (plus obligatory GCN to GBA cable) with one player relegated to the role of Chalice bearer, unless everyone was willing to take turns carrying it.

Playing it with my partner as well, though we haven’t gotten to start it up yet because of raids. We want to spend an entire evening savoring the beginning, rather than trying to fit it in between work and raid. We’ve been waiting for this for about 8 years now, since we played FF10 together. (FF12 was a mess and we couldn’t stand to play it, what a shame)